It's a sign that the nascent world of networked media is maturing, slightly, that some traditional
methods and techniques are creeping back into the area. Albeit with a twist. In the new world of mega-P2P-networks, BitTorrent and Joost are running a competition to see who can be the most respectable, in order to try and win over the old-school media barons like Viacom. (Despite the fact that only a few years ago said barons were looking to wipe P2P off the face of the earth). And in both cases it is very traditional run-ins with the law that have led to BitTorrent's Bram Cohen (post-Grokster) and Joost's Friis and Zennstrom (post-Kazaa) being so well behaved. Indeed, BitTorrent came to agreement with its most powerful opponent, the Motion Picture Association of America (aka Hollywood) in November 2005, allowing it to announce it's very scrubbed up new Entertainment Network this week. While the Joost founders go as far as saying about the new service, “It’s not Web video; it’s TV". Meanwhile, over in the related world of user-generated video, a talent war has broken out for the most popular new video stars - motivated by good old-fashioned lucre and gelt. The NYT reports that Revver has pinched LonelyGirl15...
..from YouTube using its revenue sharing model. While other popular online stars, such as ShmuTube, have been approached to bring their audiences to new revenue-sharing platforms like Metacafe and ManiaTV. Others are staying put but not for any fancy ideas about reputation, egoboo or social capital. Oh no. As another popular YouTuber, Boh3m3 says following Chad Hurley's recent comments: "If the site (YT) keeps escalating, maybe in six months it’ll grow into something very profitable for everybody.” Closer to home, in a conversation yesterday with Colin Donald of FutureScape, he succintly described current trends as old school media, "buying it's audiences back". Whereas later on at Nesta's Uploading Innovation event, I spoke with Russell Davies about the blogopshere seeming less naive than it was a couple of years ago. So, maybe the lawyers are winning. Or is it just a case of normal order being restored?
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